A woman accused of making more than 9,000 silent telephone calls to a Garda station and to a 13-year-old boy, claimed yesterday that the accusations about the calls were being made by the wife of a man with whom she had had a love affair.
Ms Bridget Sullivan (47), of Lisgreen, Rathcabbin, Roscrea, denied making annoying and harassing calls from mobile phones to Birr Garda station and 84 to Kevin Kennedy, the teenage son of the man she claimed to have had the affair with. The calls were allegedly made between December 2002 and May 2003.
In the Circuit Court in Clonmel, Ms Sullivan said the boy's mother, Ms Mary Kennedy, began making allegations about her making silent calls after she learned in July 1998 of the affair she (Ms Sullivan) was having with her husband, Mr Martin Kennedy.
Ms Sullivan said she started having an affair with Mr Kennedy in 1996. Two years later she left a message on his mobile phone saying "Darling, give me a ring". Ms Kennedy, a hairdresser, became aware of the affair when she listened to the message.
Ms Sullivan said she used to be friendly with both Mr and Ms Kennedy. She painted and put wallpaper on the walls of their home and got her hair done with Ms Kennedy.
Ms Sullivan, who was conducting her own case, said the only calls she made to the Kennedy home were in respect of both money that Mr Martin Kennedy owed her and tapes he had belonging to her.
During her cross-examination of Ms Kennedy, the accused stated: "The affair did not go down well with you, but an affair is not all one-sided. It takes two."
Ms Sullivan told Ms Kennedy in court that she was with her husband seven nights a week during a period when she was alleged to have made silent calls.
"You [ Ms Kennedy] started making claims about nuisance calls because you could not cope with the affair any other way."
Ms Kennedy replied that the alleged affair had nothing to do with the case being heard.
Garda John O'Grady, of Birr Garda station, said he personally answered a total of 1,137 silent calls at the station between January 1st and April 3rd, 2003. He said he had to take sick leave because of the stress caused to him by the calls.
Garda Fergal O'Toole also claimed he got numerous silent calls.
Judge Michael O'Shea adjourned the case until next Tuesday.